Knitting needle



June 1 3 J. H. GRAHAM- KNITTING NEEDLE Filed Feb. 5, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l E Q INVEQTOR James H. Graham.

ATTORNE June 23, 1936 J 7 2,045,268

KNITTING NEEDLE Filed Feb. 3, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR James H. Graham. I

ATTORN E g Patented June 23, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE This invention relates to knitting needles, and more particularly to a straight knitting needle having means for preventing it from rolling when placed on an inclined surface, and to the method of manufacturing the same.

One object of this invention is' to provide a knitting needle of the above nature in which the rolling is prevented bya non-circular head located on the end of the needleshank opposite from the needle point.

A further object is to provide a knitting needle of the above nature having means for permanently anchoring. the head on the needle shank.

A further object is to provide an improved method of forming the conical point on the knitting end of the needle which involves aseries of swaging steps with the minimum amount of grinding.

A further object is to provide a knitting needle of the above nature which will besimple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture; light in weight, ornamental in appearance, and very ellicient and durable in use.v

With these and other objects in'vi'ew, there have been illustrated on the accompanying drawings, several forms in which the invention may be convenientlyembodied in practice.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the first form of knitting needle embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective View of the non-rolling needle head of the same.

Fig. 3 is a view on an enlarged scale of the needle shank and head of the same in separated relationship.

Fig. 4 is a similar view of the same, showing the members in assembled relationship.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a knitting needle having a modified form of non-rolling head.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a needle having a. non-rolling head formed integral with the shank thereof.

Figs. 7 to 11 inclusive illustrate the various steps in the method or process of forming the conical knitting point on the end of a small size knitting needle.

Figs. 12 to 14 inclusive illustrate some of the steps in the process of forming the conical point of a larger size knitting needle.

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numerals denote corresponding parts throughout the several views, the numeral In indicates a straight knitting needle comprising a knitting body I I having a conical point I l a and an integral reduced elongated rear shank l2. 'Attached to the end of the needle shank I2 is an enlarged head l3 preferably of malleable material, which is formed of non-circular shape so asto prevent the needle ID from rolling when placed on-an inclined flat surface.

. The shape of the head l3 and the manner of attaching the same to the end of the shank II is shown in detail in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. The head l3 comprises a square-shaped body portion [4 having a reduced cylindrical boss l5 formed integral with the underside thereof. The boss 15 is provided with a concentric socket or hole l6 extending to substantially the full depth of said boss l5, and adapted in its original shape to be slidably fitted 15 over a series of circular spaced rings ll formed integrally upon the end of the needle shank l2.

The rings l1 are rolled upon the 'endof the shank I2 and are preferably made of a shape similar in cross-section to' the shape of the U. S. standard thread; It will be understood, however, that instead of employing circular rings of this shape, helical threads or any other formof mutilation may be employed within the's'cope of the invention. r 25 The head l3 is pre'ferably made of malleable metal andin assembling it to the shank l2',*the hollow boss I5 will first be slipped over the rings H as stated above, and then forced inwardly upon the rings I! by pressure in rolls or dies. The 30 metal of the boss l5 will thus be forced into' the V- shaped grooves included between the several rings l1, thus assuring that the head l3 will be anchored on the needle shank l2. If desired, the several rings I! may be made slightly out-of-round so as 35 to prevent lateral twisting of the head l3 when assembled thereupon.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Fig. 5, a non-rolling head ll! of malleable metal is shown as having a body portion I9 in the form of an elongated ellipse and having a socketed boss 20 for attachment upon a needle shank 2| as in the first form of the invention.

A further modified form of the invention is illustrated in Fig. 6, wherein a head 22 is formed square-shaped, and made integral with the end of a needle shank 23.

The method of forming the conical point upon the end of the body of the knitting needle is illustrated in Figs. '7 to 11 inclusive, which show the several successive steps of manufacture of a small size knitting needle.

The first step in the process of forming the needle point is to cut off an elongated blank from 55 a coil or bar of round stock to a predetermined length as shown in Fig. '7.

The second step in the operation consists in placing one end of the blank in a cold swaging machine having dies of the proper shape to form a substantially elongated conical point 26, as shown in Fig. 8. In this operation, the tip end 21 of the conical point 26 will be extruded into a very uneven and irregular shape.

The third step consists in clipping or grinding off the irregular tip end 21 of the point 26 to a predetermined length by a transverse cut, as indicated by the line 28 in Fig. 9.

The fourth step consists in beveling the tip end of the conical point to produce a fiat angle conical tip 29 as shown in Fig. 10. This may be accomplished by the use of a grinding machine, not shown, in combination with a jig fixture, not shown, to establish the proper bevel. The grinding may also be done without the use of a jig when performed by a skilled operator.

The fifth and last step of the process consists in buifing the previously formed conical tip 29 of the point 26 on a bufiing wheel with a suitable cutting rouge or compound to produce a smooth rounding substantially spherical tip 30, thus completing the needle point 26 (see Fig. 11).

It is to be understood, however, that under certain circumstances it is within the scope of this invention to combine the third and fourth steps into one operation, that is of grinding oil? the irregular end 21 of the point 26 directly down to the flat angle conical tip 29 without the necessity of cutting ofi the irregular tip 21.

The process of forming a similar shaped knitting point on a larger type of needle is illustrated in Figs. 12 to 14 inclusive, wherein a needle 3| is shown having an enlarged cylindrical body section 32 and an integral elongated reduced shank 33. The first step in the operation is that of outing off a blank from a bar of round stock of the proper length and diameter in the same manner as indicated by Fig. 7 for the smaller size of needle.

The second step in the process consists in placing one end of the blank in a cold swaging machine to form the end of the blank into frustoconical section 34 terminating in a short reduced cylindrical section 35 (see Fig. 12)

The third step consists of a secondary swaging operation wherein the cylindrical section 35 is further reduced with suitable dies, not shown, to cause said section 35 to be formed into conical shape forming an extension of the frusto-conical section 34 to produce a smooth elongated conical point 36 terminating in an irregular tip end 31, as shown in Fig. 13.

The succeeding steps in the process will be the same in all respects as those shown in Figs. 9, 10, and 11 for the smaller size needle. Thus, a conical knitting point 36 having a spherical tip end 38 will be produced, as shown in Fig. 14.

It is to be understood that three or more swaging operations may be employed, if desired, to form a point of the proper requirements upon the blunt end of the needle instead of the two step process herein illustrated.

One advantage of producing a needle by the above method is that the point is made harder and tougher, and has more wear resistance than would be the case where the point is formed by grinding alone.

While there have been disclosed in this specification several forms in which the invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that these forms are shown for the purpose of illustration only, and that the invention is not to be limited to the specific disclosures but may be modified and embodied in various other forms withoutdeparting from its spirit. In short, the invention includes all the modifications and embodiments coming within the scope of the following claim.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new, and for which it is desired to secure Letters Patent, is:

In a knitting needle, a straight shank having a plurality of parallel non-circular rings formed on one end thereof, and a head having a noncircular anti-rolling section and a reduced tubular boss fitted over said rings, said boss being squeezed inwardly into permanent interlocking engagement with said rings.

JAMES H. GRAHAM. 

